[Previous] Update from the Provost -- February 5, 2014

The Provost’s Council met yesterday to consider the proposal for the reorganization of the current colleges. The College Reorganization Proposal was submitted to the Division by the Dean of Libraries, Bob Dugan. The recommendation is the most recent step in the academic visioning process.

After considerable discussion and input from members of the Provost's Council and invited guests from the Faculty Senate, the Staff Senate, the UWF Chapter of the United Faculty of Florida, and the University Board of Trustees, the group voted unanimously to approve the recommendation.

My deepest appreciation goes to Dean Dugan for his tireless efforts in the development of the plan. I’ve received a great deal of positive feedback on his openness, tenacity and clear focus throughout the process.

I will appoint an implementation work group to outline next steps in the process and keep you advised of their progress.

[Previous] Update from the Provost -- February 26, 2014

As we move toward implementation of the newly approved re-organization plan, I wanted to provide the following update:

• I have appointed an implementation work group to facilitate the transition. There is a good bit of front-end work to be done such as transferring files and re-configuring budget lines. These activities will be conducted in close communication with the existing college administrators.

• We will start by searching for deans of three of the colleges: The College of Arts, Social Sciences & Humanities; The College of Education & Professional Studies; and The College of Science, Engineering and Health. For now, a School of Health will be included with science and engineering until we are ready to move to the next phase of implementation. At that time, we will launch the College of Health.

• We have adopted an aggressive timeline for the national searches for the respective deans in the hope of having the permanent positions filled by July 2014.

I’ll keep you advised as we move forward. I ask your full attention as we refine the job descriptions for the new college deans and fill these all-important positions.

Please note, the conversations are not over – in many ways, they have just begun. Many of the departments have expressed an interest in having further dialogues as the new colleges develop. Dean Dugan has agreed to continue facilitating the process upon invitation.

This is an exciting time for Academic Affairs, and I look forward to working with you as we continue forward.